Wales - - an incredibly gay and lesbian -friendly vacation
Wales - - an incredibly gay and lesbian -friendly vacation
Wales welcomes you. We don’t subscribe to labels. Nobody even notices that many of Wales’ characterful guest houses and hotels are gay-owned or gay-operated. After all, they’re just as welcoming as those owned by straight couples! While you’re not going to find a gay tea dance cruise sailing around the Isle of Anglesey, you will find a lively gay-specific scene in our larger cities of Cardiff and Swansea. Even the small university city of Bangor in North Wales (population 13,725) boasts a gay bar!
Dame Shirley Bassey is often heralded the unofficial Queen of Wales, and the equally iconic Ivor Novello - the Welsh singer, composer and actor - was born in Cardiff in 1893. The music, cultural and arts scenes across Wales very much belie our size and rural setting - - here's a country the size of Massachusetts with three million people and 11 million sheep, yet heralding world-class musicians, DJs (Sasha just headlined Montréal's Black & Blue Festival), actors and artists.
On this page we’ll give just a brief introduction to some of what Wales has to offer...
Nightlife
The Out Traveler magazine named Cardiff in their top ten up-and-coming gay destinations last year, however the city is anything but "last year!"... Wales’ capital certainly offers a warm welcome to gay and lesbian travelers with an enviable gay-specific scene focused around Charles Street and Bute Terrace, as well as a lively cultural and arts scene throughout the city. Among the roster of gay bars is club Pulse (pictured left), which opened recently attracting top DJs and club nights. The city's newest gay venue, though, is Wow, which opened in September 2009 offering a stylish lounge and bar atmosphere; by day, there's food and drink then at night, there are DJs until late.
Rather than go into detail about Cardiff’s bars and clubs - - and, trust us, they’re great – check out this gay guide to Cardiff put together by the local tourism folks:
www.visitcardiff.com/site/cardiff-for-you/gay-guide
In Cardiff, Mardi Gras is an annual festival taking place in September (September 4, 2010) attracting more than 40,000 visitors to the heart of the city. It features live music on a main stage, exhibitions, films and dance and cabaret tents. www.cardiffmardigras.co.uk
The Iris Prize Festival is Cardiff’s international gay and lesbian short film prize. The awards festival takes place annually each October, and the 2009 event saw guests from Germany, Australia, Canada and the US all enjoying welsh hospitality in the country’s capital. The three-day festival features screenings of the short-listed entries for the £25,000 award, as well as a number of other events. www.irisprize.org
"With lightning speed, the Iris Prize established itself as an essential date on the international queer cinema circuit,"
Gay Times.
Cardiff is also home to Wales’ gay rugby team, The Cardiff Lions RFC.
For a city with an urban population of just under 170,000 people, Swansea, incredibly, boasts four gay bars and clubs. Combine that with its connections with Welsh icons, Catherine Zeta Jones and Dylan Thomas, and an array of great restaurants and hotels, Swansea is another great city base for your Wales vacation.
With Wales’ national museums and an impressive array of art galleries, festivals and events, our cities offer vibrant year-round activity.
Shopping
For style and fashion in Cardiff, head to Hobo’s Vintage Clothing (www.hobosvintageclothing.co.uk) where you’ll find the very best vintage styles. Of course, the city boasts a slew of clothes shops from international chains to smaller unique boutiques. Or if you prefer your fashion bang up-to-date, keep an eye on up-and-coming Welsh designer, Ross Jenkins (www.rossjenkins.com) who has already received great accolades and praise.
Head to rural Wales… The Ruthin Craft Centre (www.ruthincraftcentre.org.uk) opened in 2008, showcasing welsh contemporary art. The center is located in the historic market town of Ruthin and boasts the largest series of galleries for contemporary art in Wales as well as six craft studios where you can see how crafts are made and purchase direct from the makers. There’s also a café providing local food.
Top artists… a number of the artists with work on sale have previously exhibited in the US with SOFA (a biannual art exposition in Chicago and New York). Welsh artists include Cefyn Burgess who is reputed for his design work and woven cloths, and Caitlin Jenkins who makes one-off expressive bowls and other pottery.
Back in Cardiff, check out Madame Fromage www.madamefromage.co.uk). No, she’s not a drag queen, but a specialty cheese shop, deli and restaurant boasting more than 150 different cheese varieties sourced from Artisan and award winning seasonal farmhouse producers.
Exploring the mountains and valleys
Wales offers stunning National Parks with mountains, valleys and an evocative coastline. Less well-known is that rural Wales is dotted with gay-owned and gay-friendly guest houses. Take, for example, Ffynon Fendigaid (www.ffynnonf.co.uk), a rural B&B. LogoOnline.com had a writer stay, declaring: “In addition to its simple, comfy rooms and glorious setting, it has a surprising benefit: Who'd expect a B&B run by a gay couple, Huw and David, out in the middle of a countryside practically untouched by tourists? The astounding view over the patchwork hills of Ceredigion brings me back to the present. This is farm country, and the pleasures here are basically rural ones: Visiting farmhouse stores and antiques shops packed with bounty, driving by stone churches and chapels, walking the seacoast trail that carries you over grassy bluffs overlooking some of the country's least crowded beaches.”
Romance, civil partnerships, honeymoons
Wales is the perfect choice for a romantic vacation. You could even hold a commitment celebration event at a venue such as Dinefwr Park and Castle, which is licensed for, and encourages, civil partnerships. Dinefwr is a 12th-century welsh castle and 18th-century landscape park. The grounds are home to fallow deer, a fountain garden and scenic walks with fine views across the Towy Valley.
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-global/w-hiring-2/w-wedding_ceremonies.htm
Another great location for a honeymoon, civil partnership or house party is Plas Dinas Country House (www.gayplasdinas.co.uk) located near Caernarfon in North Wales. Run by Andy and Julian, who had their own fabulous wedding at the hotel a few years’ ago, Plas Dinas is also the perfect setting for a romantic stay.
A favorite spa hotel
Perhaps for the most amazing spa treatment of your life, it’s all about location, location, location? Then St. Brides in Wales wins hands-down...
St. Bride’s Spa Hotel is set on the Pembrokeshire coast within a National Park area. This newly refurbished contemporary hotel offers luxurious accommodation overlooking a beautiful bay and harbor-side village, with their stunning spa facilities recently opened. The cliff-top marine therapy spa at St. Brides has a thermal suite offering a salt grotto, herbal steam room, rock sauna and ice fountain; while the marine spa has an infinity edge vitality pool and a double treatment suite with cliff edge views. Comfort Zone "Man Space" treatments also appeal. However, it is the awesome views from the treatment rooms, and the relaxing sounds of the waves that make this a unique experience and setting. www.stbridesspahotel.com
A dose of history
Drive one-and-a-half hours south-west of Manchester to the pretty market town of Llangollen in Wales. Surrounded by stunning countryside, this town was home to the ‘Ladies of Llangollen’ - two women who gained notoriety at the turn of the 18th century for their intensely close friendship. Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby lived at Plas Newydd, a striking Gothic residence which visitors can tour today. During their 50 years living at Plas Newydd, the ladies were visited by William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott and the Duke of Wellington. When Lord Byron wrote about his love of John Edlestone, he compared it to the love of the Ladies of Llangollen as an example of ‘romantic friendship’, and the ladies have become iconic figures for the lesbian community. www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en-gb/DNAP-76YDAJ
For a great overview of Wales as a gay-friendly destination, we suggest you check out these awesome features from Passport magazine and TripOutGayTravel.com:
Globetrotting: Cardiff, Wales
By Dann Fink - - As my train traveled from Heathrow to Cardiff, I felt like I was crossing through countryside painted by Monet. I’d never been to Wales, so I was raring to explore every square foot of Cardiff, and hopefully some not-so-square ones as well, then immerse myself in the Iris Prize Film Festival at week’s end...
www.passportmagazine.com/departments/CardiffWales972.phpExploring Wales: Cardiff• Swansea• North Wales
By Rich Rubin - - Wales is a fascinating land of contrasts that offers a wide variety of wonderful experiences. Visitors here can enjoy everything from the urban pleasures of bustling Cardiff, to wide open beaches and stunning mountain scenery. It’s also as gay-friendly a destination as you could hope to find, both in the metropolitan areas and, perhaps more surprisingly, in the countryside...
www.passportmagazine.com/destinations/Wales.phpWales: Memory, Beauty and Magic
By Rich Rubin - - This is more than just another travel writer’s trip. This is a trip into my memory, into my life as a traveler, and it assumes for me a significance far greater than your ordinary Euro-jaunt...
www.tripoutgaytravel.com/wales-memory-beauty-and-magic/